Unanswered Calls
by DistinctShadow
Summary: She should have expected her calls would go unanswered.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own OUAT.**

**A/N: I really have no idea where this came from. It kind of just wrote itself.**

_Will this never end?_

Emma huffs and slams her bedroom door behind her, aggravated at the world for existing. She can't understand why someone would sneak around town and steal sentimental items, or why she _still_ hadn't caught the thief by now. Those who had been targeted didn't help her mood, complaining that she wasn't doing her job correctly.

She leaps onto her bed, burying her face in her pillow before she releases a _long_ string of expletives before finally sighing and rolling onto her back. Staring at the ceiling had become her favorite thing to do, allowing her to ignore the problems that would await her outside of this room. The only thing she wants is silent peace.

However, a thought nags the back of her mind and she retrieves her phone from her pocket, scrolling through her contacts and hovering her thumb over the _Talk_ button. She isn't sure she should connect the call, but before she can change her mind, she presses the button, raising the device to her ear.

_Ring...Ring...Ri-"You have reached the voicemail of..."_

As expected, her call is unanswered, but she doesn't hang up. Instead she waits for the beep, her heart beating just slightly faster, her stomach twisting anxiously. She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath, the words spilling from her, as thick as molasses. "Hey, Regina...it's me." Pausing, she hesitates. "I don't know why I thought you would answer for me this time; you never really answered your phone for me unless I called you a half dozen times because of an emergency. But this isn't an emergency.

"I'm just really having a rough day, you know? I guess it's been more than just today though. This has been going on for a while and I think I'm slowly going insane. You'd like that, wouldn't you? You would have a reason to get rid of me; maybe you'd lock me up under the hospital like you did with Belle, except you might have me in a straightjacket.

"Then again, you would probably want to watch as the sheriff gradually loses her mind, making a total fool of herself and losing touch with reality. What am I saying? I'm talking to you voicemail as if you can actually hear me. I guess it's already happening.

"How did you ever manage to do this? How was it possible for you to run an entire town, after running a whole kingdom and torturing others, after renaming so many people and giving them lives that I didn't even know you had the power to create. That amazes me, that you could come to another world and just...fit in. But it begs the question of whether you actually did fit in, of whether you really knew what things were here or if you had to learn. I'm trying to imagine you learning to drive a car for the first time...

"I'm sorry, I got distracted. I just don't think I can do this, trying to keep people from wreaking havoc. That was your thi-"

_Beep._

The blonde sighs and disconnects the call, setting her cell phone on the bed and rolling onto her side, her eyes focused on the wall until it becomes a blur and fades to black.

Two weeks pass, the mystery solved and a self-claimed guilty August behind bars. Emma sits at her desk at the station, frowning at the man asleep on the cot in the holding cell, before her eyes slip to the clock on the wall. She knows Henry is waiting at home for her, most likely concerned about the distance she's gradually been putting between herself and the rest of the town over the past month, but she isn't ready for the inevitable intervention and speech that he needs her because she's his mother.

And before she knows it, he'll suggest that she talks to Archie about whatever issues she's struggling with because that's what she _needs_, to slowly twist the top off of the bottle that's been shaken inside of her, careful to prevent an explosion.

_There's no running from the disaster that's sure to come._

Groaning in frustration, the sheriff stands and grabs her keys, leaving the station. As she had predicted, Henry is waiting for her at the kitchen table, his eyes full of worry when he stands so quickly that his chair tilts over and crashes to the floor. He ignores it, staring at his mother and searching for any hint that she'll brush him off. When he finds none, aside from how she noticeably tenses under his gaze, he speaks. "Mom, what's going on with you lately? You're here...but you're not."

And she wonders why he's stronger than she is, how he could possibly be able to enjoy his life, while she suffers and struggles to make it alive through each and every day. But she doesn't ask him, instead meeting the sixteen year old's eyes and exhaling, taking a seat at the table. He picks up his chair and sits in it, waiting patiently for her response, but after a few silent moments, she stands and goes to her bedroom. Closing and locking the door behind her, she leans against it, her heart pounding wildly against her ribs.

_Would he understand?_

Sitting on the edge of her bed, she slips her phone from her pocket and opens her recent contacts, not hesitating to call Regina this time. The phone rings before the voicemail picks up and she sighs, knowing this time would be no different than any other. "It's been two weeks since I last left you a message and I have to admit that I'm wondering if I should bother to leave you messages when I know you won't pay them any mind. It seems to be a waste of time, doesn't it?

"Anyway...I guess you should know that I finally figured out the problem I told you about. It's a little hard to believe it was August, but I suppose even those who seem innocent are capable of committing crimes.

"Life isn't any easier. I wish...I wish you would just pick up your phone and answer me. Everything would be so much better, even if you just insulted me. But you won't even do that for me. After all that we've been through, you won't allow me one thing." She frowns before continuing, fighting back the tears her shaky voice threatens to reveal. "I love you and I know you love me too. Why are you being so selfish?!"

Disconnecting the call, she throws her phone against the wall with a _fuck! _and ignores Henry's questions of her well-being through the door. She curls into a ball with a pillow hugged close to her chest and allows the tears to fall.

_When it all falls down and you know you can't get out._

The next morning, Henry practically begs his mother to talk to him, barely giving her a moment to protest before he finally grabs her wrist and drags her outside. Ignoring the curious glances by those they pass, he pulls her to the cemetery, stirring a particular dread in the blonde's chest. As they approach their destination, the boy glances at Emma, releasing her wrist.

Her feet refuse to obey her thoughts to run and step closer to the headstone her son has brought her to visit. "You've been calling her again," he says quietly, his words swept away into the breeze. "I heard you on the phone last night...You've been letting the rest of us go." He sighs and places his hand on the stone. "She won't listen to us, Mom." With a sad smile, he leaves to give Emma her peace.

Emma kneels, her fingers tracing lightly over the letters etched in the stone. _Mayor, mother, wife..._ "It hurts, Regina. I shouldn't be suffering. It's been _five years,_ but it feels as though it were yesterday when you kissed me before leaving for work that morning. When I got that call...life has been hell for me ever since." She closes her eyes. "I miss you."


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own.**

**A/N: So this was supposed to be a one-shot, but I've decided that it needed a second part. This will be the final part, since I was barely able to write it without wanting to tear myself apart. Thank you to FreedomInTheMusic for pushing me to write it as well.**

**Enjoy.**

"Mom, have you seen my tie? I can't find it..." Henry trails off when he enters Emma's bedroom; watching as his mother's eyes begin to shimmer with unshed tears, examining him from head to toe. "Mom?"

Emma wipes away the moisture with the back of her hand and flashes a genuine smile when her eyes meet his. She's not one to cry in these moments, but she can't help it when the boy in front of her is growing up. "Sorry, I just...I didn't think this day would come so soon. Your mother would be so proud."

Silence beats between them for a moment, a faint memory of Regina at the back of their minds resurfacing, and Henry wraps an arm around Emma's waist. "So about that tie?" he nudges, smirking. His mother rolls her eyes, turning him and gently pushing him back to his room.

_Emma sits at the edge of her bed, staring at the gold ring she holds between her thumb and forefinger. Kissing Regina and wishing her a decent day at work only seems like yesterday, the phone call she received less than an hour later like a brand on the front of her mind, burning her every time she closes her eyes. The entire morning has haunted her for the past year; an emptiness clutching at her chest, as though to rip her soul from her body. _

_If only she could talk to the woman, to tell her that she's fine. However, she knows saying as much would be a total lie, and she'd never lie to Regina, even if a knife was held to her throat and she were being commanded to. _

_Her phone vibrates twice beside her, indicating a text message, and she eyes it carefully, wondering if somehow Regina had heard her thoughts. Instead, Henry's name flashes at the top of the screen and realization hits her that she's forgotten to pick him up from school. Regina never would have allowed such a thing; she would have scolded the blonde for abandoning their son, no matter how briefly. _

_As she drives toward the middle school, she scrolls through her contacts and pauses at Regina's name, before forcing herself to tap the _call_ button. After three rings, the voicemail picks up and she sighs, wondering if she should have even dialed. Her voice sounds without her permission. "Hey, Regina…I know you'd be pissed off if you knew that I forgot to pick up Henry today, but I'm sorry. _

"_Wow, that was actually the first thing I could say to you after all of this time. I'm such an idiot, aren't I? Life sucks without you, to be honest. You always kept me in check when I said or did something stupid, and yeah, you made me feel like shit when I did, but I didn't do it on purpose. You just…make things hard for me, you know? My brain turns into this jumbled mess and I end up saying or doing things before I think them through, but don't think for a goddamn second that I did it carelessly. _

"_I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be angry just then. I just miss you yelling at me. At least then you would be talking to me, and one of the things I always loved about you was your voice. I really wish I could hear you speak right now; I'd probably cry though. I know you hated when I said you were perfect, or when I tried to argue with you and say that you were something you didn't believe you were, but Regina, you're always going to be perfect and beautiful to me. What you saw about yourself and what I saw were in different perspectives. I remember when you used to call me a liar and say that I was an idiot to keep telling you untruthful opinions, but babe, opinions aren't meant to be true or false. They're meant to be honest. And that's what I was for you. I've never been as honest with anyone as I was with you._

"_But I guess my love for you wasn't enough. It wasn't enough to keep you here and you fucking left. You left me and you're never coming back." Emma sighs and stops at a red light. "But I guess it's better that way, right? If there's one thing I've ever learned, it's that when someone leaves—no matter for how long—they never truly come back. Things are never really the same when they come back. _

"_Remember that one fight we had and you said you needed space? And then you disappeared for like a week and when you came back, everything was awkward? That was my fault. I guess when you proved that you could actually walk away, I realized you could probably do it again, and I distanced myself from you. But we worked it out. You made me come back to you because you cared."_

_She opens her mouth to continue, but a beep notifies the end of the message, and she ends the call, dropping her cell phone into her lap. _

Emma sits in the bleachers of the high school gym, searching the sea of black gowns and caps for her eighteen-year-old son. This is a proud moment for both of them, one she would share with Regina later that evening. Her eyes find a jittery Henry, seated in the midst of the fleet, chatting animatedly with the girl beside him, and she smiles as the gym grows quiet at the principal's insistence.

The ceremony is quick; the graduating class on small and the speeches are brief. The audience cheers as their graduates cross the stage and applaud at the end, Ruby clapping a hand on Emma's shoulder before she slips away to return to the diner before the celebratory rush. A ghost of an arm wraps around Emma's waist and she grins, relishing the fragrance of apples as she welcomes Regina's presence.

She shakes her head slightly, knowing that her mind is unhealthy, falsely placing her late wife into the living world. However, she can't bring herself to move on in this moment, knowing that this is about Henry and not about herself.

During the graduation party at the diner, Emma slips unnoticed through the back to stand in the alley. The happiness is overwhelming inside, excited chatter and cheering amongst the young adults and their families causing some form of need for isolation for the blonde. She leans against the building, staring out into the dark of the night for a moment before fishing her phone from her pocket. There's one final thing she knows she must do, even if she knows Henry would disapprove.

"Hey, Regina...I know it's been a while since the last time I called. I'm sorry about that, but I've been a little busy. So much has been going on, both with Henry and me, and I know you went to his graduation. I...Well, I felt you there.

"He was so handsome, wasn't he? I never thought I'd be so proud of anyone like I was today, just watching our son walk across that stage and begin his journey to becoming a man. I think I'm actually going to cry when he leaves for college in a few months. Who's going to be around to talk to anymore?

"I'm sure you noticed the girl he was sitting next to. He insists that she's his true love, and who am I to argue? After all, he's the happiest I've ever known him to be. He needs to stop smirking in that adorable way you used to because he's also become a smug little shit. I think you'd be pretty proud of that.

"Storybrooke has gotten really quiet lately. There hasn't been a lot of crime, or any crime actually, so work gets kind of boring sometimes. Plus, my sexy boss isn't around anymore; I'm sure you share my disappointment."

Emma pauses, a tiny smile gracing her lips as she fights the tears that threaten to flow. "Everyone misses you, you know. Even Ruby comes by every now and then to talk about you.

"They're all worried about me. I know it's true, even if they won't say it; my parents and Henry always look at me in weird ways and always when they think I don't notice. But I'm tired of being treated like I'm crazy.

"I'm still mad at you, Regina. When you kissed me that morning and told me that you would see me at lunch...I didn't realize that it meant that I would never see life in your beautiful eyes again. Why did you leave me?

"It isn't fair! You promised forever. You promised you would always love me. How could you lie and leave me behind?" She wipes at her eyes and sits at the end of her bed. "But now...now you're gone.

"I think it's time for me to move on. I've always loved you, Regina. I think I always will."


End file.
